I woke up last Wednesday with the web all abuzz about Miley Cyrus. No, the 20-year-old former Disney princess was not doing her twerk dance again. She was up to something worse, or to be kind about it, something more daring. It now looks like the twerking in nude colored bra and panties at the recent MTV Video Music Awards was just the prelude to a true wrecking ball of a music video.
What everybody was talking and tweeting and etc. about was the video to her new single titled Wrecking Ball, the second release from her upcoming studio album Bangerz. Directed by Terry Richardson, it shows the former Hannah Montana star toying provocatively with a sledgehammer and riding a wrecking ball stark naked. Well, she is wearing brown boots. And that is all she has on.
The release of the Wrecking Ball clip came with a hashtag #WreckTheRecord from Miley herself. This was a request from Miley for all her fans to view it that day so that it will earn the record of being the most viewed video on VEVO within a 24-hour period. If that happens, she promised to release the track list of the new album.
The VEVO record was formerly held by We Can’t Stop, Miley’s other song from Bangerz, with 10.7 million views in one day. But then the British boy band One Direction’s new single Best Song Ever came along and broke that record with 10.9 million views. So Miley countered back with Wrecking Ball.
Of course, it broke the record. There was no way that was not going to happen. Much like those sex videos of local celebrities that become sensations on the Internet, anybody would be curious about the naked Miley. Her Wrecking Ball got 12.3 million views within a 24-hour period and has already been seen 17 million times as of this writing.
I guess that means big sales for the new album, which is due to hit the stores early in October and which is certainly one of the most awaited releases of the year. Still, I cannot help but ask, what’s with this girl? Why this wanting to shock people? Why this longing to dispose of her old wholesome image? Why this urge to take off her clothes in something as public as the Internet?
I am not being prudish and I have seen and liked nude images that are tasteful and artistic. Why even the supposedly daring pop stars like Madonna, Britney Spears or Lady Gaga were never this shocking? Or in the times they were, they sought to have a semblance of art in their nudity or some lofty reason. Not Miley though and I will not be surprised if she will push things further in her future albums and performances.
This is not also a case of wanting to keep Miley young and innocent like she was as Hannah Montana. Girls grow up. Although I must say that ideally, it is the responsibility of celebrities, particularly those with young followers to set a good example, or to at least allow themselves to be bound to certain rules of decency.
That is not possible in the case of Miley at this moment. From what we have seen of her these past weeks, she is no wrecking ball. She is the one being hit from all sides by a wrecking ball and I dread to think of the mess that will be left behind when the hitting comes to a stop.
A day later, I saw this message on Facebook. I do not know if it really came from Miley. One cannot really tell what is true or not in these social media sites. But just in case it is, I think we should let her have her say.
“Let’s get something straight. You guys don’t understand my music video. So let me explain it to you. I kiss the sledgehammer to show that I secretly still love the pain. I’m naked to show how Liam destroyed me. I emotionally become naked and stripped meaning I’m hurt on the inside. The wrecking ball symbolizes a destructive love, hence the song title. (The wrecking ball breaks the walls and I’m left laying in the remaining of it). So instead of calling me a ‘slut’ or a ‘whore’ realize I’m trying to tell a story of love that went wrong and destroyed me emotionally.â€
The 23-year-old Liam is the Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, brother to Chris and Luke and the star of films like Hunger Games, Expendables 2 and Last Song. He and Miley have been engaged for over a year. No official word has been received from either him or Miley that the engagement is now off.
By the way, Wrecking Ball, the single is now ranked No. 14 in Billboard Magazine’s Hot 100 singles list. We Can’t Stop is at No. 4.
The Top 10 songs in the Hot 100 are: Roar by Katy Perry; Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke; Berzerk by Eminem; We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus; Holy Grail by Jay Z featuring Justin Timberlake; Applause by Lady Gaga; Wake Me Up by Avicii; Royals by Lorde; Radioactive by Imagine Dragons; Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey & Cedric Gervais.
The Top 10 titles in the Top 200 Albums list are: Hail To The King by Avenged Sevenfold; Crash My Party by Luke Bryan; Hall Of Fame by Big Sean; Stay Trippy by Juicy J; Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke; The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake; Paradise Valley by John Mayer; Alabama & Friends by Alabama & Friends; Unorthodox Justice by Bruno Mars; Three Kings by TGT.